sga_santa is a Secret Santa exchange for the Stargate Atlantis fandom. This is my first year participating (since I just spent this past year getting caught up on the series), and sadly, the last year the exchange is being run. It had a good run of 10 years. And given the turnout for it's closing night performance, it certainly ended strong. I wrote my first dialogue-only fic as my gift, and it was well received (and a LOT of fun to right). My first foray into writing SGA fic, but I have a feeling it won't be my last.

Anyway, my gift was Consequences by the ever-fabulous tarlanx. She and I have collaborated a several times now on various big bangs, and I LOVE her writing style (and she's also a very talented artist). The story is deliciously angsty, both from the action of the plot and the internal conflicts of the characters. I highly recommend it if you are a McShep fan.

multifan_gift was another new exchange for me this year, mostly because it allowed both fic and art to be given as gifts. My receipient requested wallpapers, and picked Game of Thrones as one of the fandoms. I had a lot of fun making my gift, stretching my artistic muscles.

In return, I got a fabulous Walking Dead fic AND fanmix! Shards of the Mind by dunderklumpen is Carol-centric with a side of Daryl/Carol (which I ship SO HARD). I love character studies, and Carol has such a rich and angst-filled backstory that presents so many possibilities. This one touches on a lot of aspects of her struggles, and how Daryl fills in the small cracks of her life. And a fanmix! I love mixes, and this one has a lot of great songs that really bring the feelz. And the images for the covers are A-MAZING.

This was my fourth year doing yuletide, probably the biggest and best-known fanfic exchange. Last year, however, was very disappointing. I got matched to someone and hit on two fandoms. However, his likes/dislikes for stories was pretty much diametrically opposed to what I like to write. Still, I wrote something that fit his request, which was received with very lukewarm feedback. I wrote two other stories last year—a pinch hit and a madness treat—and felt very accomplished with what I'd done. Then I got my gift. Ugh. The person paid no attention whatsoever to my likes/dislikes and basically, gave me a lump of coal. Still, I tried to be optimistic and participate again. Only to get matched to the SAME GUY as my recipient again. I almost defaulted immediately (and should have). But I soldiered on, thinking I could still do this. Well, it never gelled, and I ended up defaulting at the last minute. Which I feel awful about, and will make me ineligible to participate next year unless I write something for the New Years Resolution collection before next signup.

And then I got my own gift. I was a little concerned, because I saw my own name come across the pinch-hit list (which means my original author defaulted). But OMG, was it an awesome gift. Night Terrors by flyakate is a Grimm case-fic that is so well done, it could easily be an episode. The guys encounter a new type of Wesen, and have to figure out how to take it down. Receiving such a fantastic gift made me feel even more guilty about having defaulted, but then I decided I would consider it payback for last year. :)

So all in all, it was a good holiday in my fandom world. Thanks to all my thoughtful, talented authors and artists!